John robertson



J. ROBERTSON.

UMakg Sheetf Lead.

Patented Oct. V3. 1848.

n. Pneus, Phmwmmgper. vla-[mgm u.c.

JOHN` ROBERTSON, or BROOKLYN, NEw lvonk.-

. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SHEET-LEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 5,820, dated October 3, 1848.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

`Be it known that I, JOHN ROBERTSON, of

Brooklyn, Kings county, in the State ofv New York, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Bolling Lead or other Soft Metal orCompound into Sheets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactl description thereof in connection with the drawings annexed.

For the purpose of showing what my invention is calculated to effect, it may be as well to state the ordinary method of rolling lead as at present practiced. The lead is cast into heavy bars or sheets and run` through a pair of rollers which have a reversing motion. The plate of lead is passed through these rolls, back'and forward alternately, and each time it is so passed through the rollers, the machine must be reversed. And as the sheet is rolled out and becomes unwieldly from its length, it is subdivided into smaller lengths and again subjected to the action of the rollers, and so the sheet of lead is repeatedly passed back and forward till reduced to the proper thickness. By this process, much time islostb-y the stopping and reversing of ythe machine each time that the sheet passes through the rollers and owing to the great jerkingv of the machinery on its being reversed, there is a great wear and tear of the machinery produced, and the time and labor taken up 1n cutting the lead into shorter lengths as it is rolled out and becomes unmanageable, is objectionable.

-By my invention is obtained an uninterrupted vrolling of an even. surface; and the form of lead is neither reversed nor severed during the process of, rolling and scarcely' gvenient. and suitable is-represented herein 4,

requires to be handled after at hasl been placed within the rollersvuntil the process of rolling has been concluded.l

Figures 1, 2, and 4, represent respectively a front and end elevation, and 'a planof the machinery for rolling so far as is required to represent and explain my invention and I refer to these drawings 'as part of my specifications. d d

I put upon one (seew D, Figs. l, 2 and 4,) of a pair of rollers,.an extended ring or cylindrical fo-rm of lead, which may ber an inch, moreor less thick.V When the rollers are put in motion-which is done by the application of anyy of the knownk means of applying-steam orl water power,)w'the pressing roller B, (Figs. l and 4) pressesagainst the-cylindrical form of lead ,at .the Lpart on the outside thereof oppositeA to the part in :contact with the roller D. The form of lead is .thus flattened as it is caused to re ivolve and brought in contact withB by the .carrying roller D. As this cylinder of lead -becomes thinner, its interior capacity is 4of course enlarged-it loses its cylindrical Yform, and falls or drops as represented kby the dotted line D, I, K, (Figl-see also D, I, Fig. 2,) becoming like anendless web .or band. Each part of this form is succes-V lf'sively pressed by the rollers as it passes opposite the pressing roller BQ As the form Abecomes thinned or flattened, the pressing roller B is forced toward roller D, either kby the workman at his discretion at each j revolution, or continually, or by the adaptajti'on of power,which, at stated intervals or,

,continually, shall do the same. The rollers fare kept in continuous motion, luntil the` away, ready to be rolled up for use, or to befcut into smaller sized sheets if required. I will now proceed to explainparticularly lthe process and the machine required.

Fig. 1, delineates a front view; Fig. 2k

letters refer tothe same parts on eachy figf lure) A, A, A, indicates the end of the frame.

fof the machine B indicates the pressing ,c

an end elevation; Fig. 4 a plan (the same ,roller It is forced against or from D, the

,carryingvroller, by any of the well known: modes'of forcing or sliding a heavyL mass. f

Thel mode adopted-"by` me asbeing'con- 'C (Fig. l, Fig. 4,) is a spoke wheel (a crank' ,may answer) attached to an axlem, which extends lacross the machine. (Q,Seve Fig.

i011 thisaxle 00 isa screw near eachv end thesefv fof C is turned Oneway or another the screw, V, fOrces-.thebearin'gs of B back and forth.; lThese bearings are fitted to slide in the rectangular spaceleft in the frame of the ma chineAvyA. f er `H and H revolves in it.

In eachend of the frame is av bearing to support the axles of B, and these bearings slide in the frame in the rectangular space represented in Fig. l, as itis forced by the screw V. The carrying roller D, does not require to be moved from its position. The axle of D at the opposite end or slide to the one drawn at Fig. 1 should be placed on a permanent bearing on the frame, so that when B is pressing against `D, the latter cannot be forced out of its place.

The roller D with its place of bearing and extended bar H, is more than twice as long as that of B. The object of this is, that while the form of lead K, (Fig. l) is being rolled, another ring or cylindrical form of lead K (Fig. 2) can be placed on H, and after the first form has been rolled and cut and taken away, the new form K, (Fig.

2) on the bar H, can be carried along onA the railway M, by means ofthe carriage on wheels L (Fig. 2) through the frame work and slipped on' the roller D to be pressed. The axle of the'bar H of D rests on a hinged or movable bearing N which turns outwardon the axles, n n.

In the frame work (see Fig. 1) at the end drawn in the ligure, is a rectangular space, which permits the sliding bearing R, R, r

' to be forced back and forth by a pinion on the axle of the arm which works in a rack attached to 1', which is a part of t-he bearing R R 7.

Q represents a vcut or opening into which is put a key which holds the bearingv R R 1" in its place, and then the bearing of the axle of D is perfect and the machine may work. Q is taken out when the arm is to be lifted up, to draw this bearing back; The model has a screw which effects the same end.

S S S represents the permanent bearing of the roller D in the frame work. It incloses It is shaped as drawn in Fig. l, so as to t into R, R, R, when that bearing is forced up. The bearing S, S, S has a circumference aboutvequal to that of D, and the cylinder of lead must have its interior diameter or bore ofsufllcient capacity to slide over S; S and on to D. The diameter of that part of the roller D represented by H', need not be the same as that of D (Fig. 2). H should be long enough for the form of lead to be put on. rl`heroller D must belong enough to allow for the spreading of lead as itbecomes flattened, and thick enough to avoid yielding "or bending during the process of rolling, but it gets very little wider while being rolled. H, is a continuation of D. y y

When it is desired to prepare a form of lead for rolling, the hingedybearing N is turned down, this leaves the axle of the bar H, (Fig. l) free, but the roller is supported by the bearing S S, R R, in the frame work, so that the roller D may be revolving. A form of lead K, which will loosely encircle the b'ar His then placed thereon by means of the carriage L, which is made withl a curve in its body that fits the outside of the cylinder.

The form rests on the carriage which is pushed along until the form be carried so far as to rest as shown in- Fig. 2, then the hinged bearing N is raised and H again rested at O thereon. Vhen the form of lead before put upon D, has been rolled sufficiently and cut and taken away in order to put a new cylinder K thereon, raise the arm -*this, by the `pinion working on the rack -attached to r, draws out the bearing VR R-this leavesa space around the bearing S S large enough to admit the form of lead K to slip along on H through the frame work A on tofD. The diameter of D and that of S S, is about that of the interior of this cylinder K. Thev carriage LV which is supporting K all the time it lis on or rather around H-is again pushed onward and carries with it K as before described. The form of lead is then pushed or drawn by a tackle so as to lit on D, and clear the frame.

The bearing R R r isthen forced back by the arm and rack and S S is again supported by the bearing R R which is thereV by slid under it and thus alirm bearing for D and H to revolve on `in the frame is created. The carriage L is shorter than the cylinder, so that the end of the cylinder may vturns the pinion at the end of the axle which turns the cog wheel E, which is attached at the far end of the axle of D' on the outside of the frame work opposite from where H is (see Figs. 2 and 4L). Thus the roller D is turned, and B being forced closely against the cylinder of lead, compresses it, while it also is turned by the friction.

It is obvious that the cylindrical massof lead-may be suspended by e` or c ain or bar, and swung or borne horizontally S0 as to be made to encircle the carrying roller. I can also use any form of lead or other metal or compound, thatm will encircle the roller D. A

There are of course many modes by which by slight alterations of the arrangement the eifects of this machine on a cylindrical form of lead may be produced. The carrying roller may also be constructed so as to be forced against the other roller or against a iso fixed body as the cylindrical form of lead becomes thin, although I prefer the arrangement above described.

Fig. 5 represents a different arrangement of machinery whereby the same effects can be produced as those described.

U designates a carrying roller upon which has been placed a form of lead I I as above described encircling the roller.

T T represents two other rollers, one on each side of u and so arranged that they shall be forced against the outside of the form of lead and the roller u as it becomes flattened.

W is a weight suspended by a chain or rope over a fixed pulley P. This chain is attached at the other end to the end of the axle bar of a movable pulley P. A like arrangement should be made at the other end of the movable pulley. The axle bar of this movable pulley is run through the opening or bore of the cylindrical form of lead, so that by having each end of the axle bar'upheld; and by means of one or more weights suspended over one or more permanent pulleys; drawn upward the form of lead I, I,

v as it has become pressed out has been drawn upward by the weight or Weights and thereby kept it from encumbering the rollers, as it became flattened and extended. It is obvious that the arrangement represented here is not the only mode by which this part of my invention can be arranged. For instance let it be supposed that the drawing (Fig. 5) had been drawn, extending longitudinally at right angles to its present longitudinal lines. Then one of the rollers T would be below instead of at the side of u, and the other roller T would be above ythe roller u. In such case it would perhaps be necessary that another set of weights and pulleys should be arranged so that the form of lead would be drawn out as it became flattened and extended. y

Although one of the rollers T (say for instance the under one) might be dispensed with and a flat plane surface substituted in place of that roller, on which the form would slide as it was pressed and dragged along; still I prefer the use of the three rollers.

I do not cla-im as having invented a cylindrical form of lead or other soft metal or compound. Others have made such without doubt but no person has ever made the same and then manufacturedV it into sheet lead as I propose.

facture of lead and other soft metals and mpounds by rolling with smooth rollers.

I do claim as my invention- 1. The mode of manufacturing such hollow cylindrical forms of lead and other soft metals and compounds into sheets by first placing them around a roller whose axis may be in a .horizontal plane or in one of any inclination and then rolling it by any known Neither do I claim the manu- Y by rolling, combined with the movable beari ings and pressing roller or rollers substantially as hereindescribed.

3. I claim the manufacture of lead or other soft metal or compound into sheets b v supporting a hollow form thereof and rolling it by one or moreV pressing rollers forced against ,the outside of the form, as it becomes thinner, and drawing out the extended form when required, inthe mode substantially as described.

JOHN ROBERTSON. In the presence of- MILES B. ANDRUS, CLARENCE LIVINGSTON. 

